500 days of summer analysis.

500 days of summer analysis.

500 Days Of Summer is a romantic- comedy directed by Marc Webb , written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film was a independent production and was distributed by Fox Searchlight pictures, 500 days of summer earned over $60 million in worldwide returns, far exceeding its $7.5 million budget.

In one of the first scenes we see our two main characters in a photocopying room, the setting here is dull and bleak, this gives off bad connotations which is surprising considering the scene shows the two protagonist kissing. This could be done to foreshadow what is to come as the future for them is not bright, therefore neither is now. In addition the use of mise en scene here creates irony, the poster on the wall about paper cuts is the only poster we can really see, it states that “paper cuts hurt work safety”, this is ironic because paper cuts are the tiniest thing, whereas we know heartbreak is on the horizon.it is also ironic because these two are not actually working or being safe as the begin to kiss in this room.

Within the cinematography the team use shot reverse shot to along side close ups to contrast the characters Tom and Summers emotions, the film uses themes of good and bad in may different ways and this is where it first form takes place as Summer is good about being just friends then Tom feels bad about the fact they will just be friends.

Throughout the editing in this film a new scene tends to be demonstrated by showing the amount of days left, this links to the title , scene by scene it counts down from 500. Furthermore in a separate scene they have put two different actions in at one using reality and expectations. This most likely has been done so we get to know our protagonists thoughts ,it gives us an insight to how he feels about her. Not only does it let the audience understand his feelings but it also juxtapose two ideas together for example bad  and good, the expectations is what would have been good and reality is bad as Tom has been pushed into a friend zone by his “ex” girlfriend.

 There is a point in the film where it is low moment ,the music playing the background is also very saddening and the camera movements are very minimal to suggest there is not much life but then after a talk he is much happier the music is joyful and the camera movements are more active by using a tracking shot. 500 Days of Summer constantly use music to portray the characters feelings , when Tom and Summer meet up after her marriage to someone else a tense moment occurs where the themes of love and heartbreak become apparent at once, the music mirrors Toms feelings  the music almost reminds the audience of his heart sinking. Although the music is quick to become slightly more upbeat to show that Tom is a strong character.

To conclude 500 days of summer uses many different elements such as sound to portray characters emotions, as well as themes of relationships (Tom and Summer/Tom and friends) and bad/good.